Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-12-25

I Il1 UAkLANN ohN 50
| handed Polly and her mother TO their car
ri,pe. It had begun TO snow during the
~evsnins. and everybody was wild at the
prospect of a snowy Christmas, only Polly
cried herself to sleep, but she dreamed that
it was Joe who had kissed her after all,
! and smiled in her dreams. 1t did SNOW
all that hight and all the next
dav. That day there was q dinner
AT Colonel Smithers', and the next even
ing a big ball in Mr.. Martins barn, audit
was Robert Wallace who took Polly out IN
q lovely little sleigh, many of the young
people went out in wagon bodies put on
sleigh inner aud Polly euvied them
until she saw that Joe Hollabird had Sal
Is Smithers in hi3 new box sleigh, then
] she laughed a great deal, sang a little, and
promised Mr.. Wallace q dozen dances. So
! the week went on, one night there was a
party at Mrs. Elton's, and Is she was a
strict Presbyterian, they could not dance
but played Pussy wants a corner and
"Forfeits" and "Biindman's Buff in
stead, and Mr.. Wallace always gave Polly
bis corner, and caugh! her with such re-
g~ularity when he was blindfolded that
Amy Martin declared he peeped, and in
sisted on tying the handkerchief herself,
but still be contrived TO catch Polly,
though she was fleet of foot and nOiseless
of step. All that night and all the next
! day it showed 80 that the roads were al
most impossible for the drifts, and the
quests who were able TO come
TO the grand dinner Polly's mother
gave scarcely numbered twenty,
though the roast pigs and turkeys and
Other things too good to talk about, were
prepared for twice as many more. vi
course Mr.. Wallace was one Ofthe guests
who cortrived TO come, but l doubt if he
eniOyeii it greatly. for Joe Hoilablrd was
rOt there, and Polly made her position as
hostess an excuse for being very little IN
his company. Then il turned suddenly
cold, so cold that the river was frozen
nearly a foot thick, and people looked hk
a moving mas of furs whenever they did
20 cut, which was not ottener than they
were compelled to. Polly had laughed
and danced AID sung ever since tie we'd
ding, but she had shed many briny tears
in secret. She felt that she hated Mr..
Wallace, though she blushed and smiled
when he paid her compliments; and how
sue hated that Sally Smithers, ii she did
have tn kiss her every time they met,
lust az usual. She told herself that she
hated Joe Hollahird, too, for he never
asked her to dance now, or noticed her,
except to make her frigid bow at meeting
or parting, and people smiled and said
that Sally Smithers really had q beau
at last aud that Joe really wanted 10 mar
ry her, and when Sally was teased, as had
happened in Polly's presence, she only
looked conscious and did not deny it. OF
course Polly knew that Sally had told Joe
a great many things about herself, but Joe
knew her too we'll TO believe them, and
when Polly reached this point she always
fell TO crying.
On Christmas Eve the grand ball Of all
took place at Judge TOmlinsOn's, and
Polly had n new pink silk made
lust like the blue one the bride
was to wear, and she kept telling her
mother and herself that she ought to he the
happiest girl in town, but / am glad to
cay that in our day, at least, the happiest
girl in Wheeling does not have so Dnch
ado to remove the traces of tears from her
cheeks in order to appear well in a new
pink silk at a grand Christmas ball. The
TomlinsOn mansion was in even greater
connection than on the night of the we'd
ling, tor this entertainment was to eclipse
even that in splendor. Old Aunt
Prissy, the best cake baker for miles
around, had been busy for weeks in
the great kitchen ordering the servants
about, ana slapping the little darkies for
stealing raisins and citTOn, and now the
huge dining room with It's long white
tables shOne with cut glass and silver, and
the house looked like u bower 10 the half
frozen guests as they came iii. How lovely
the girls looked in the light of the wax
candles set everywhere in tall silver can
dlestiCks. There are no such pretty girls
nowadays, old gentlemen tell us, but
perhaps the wax lights may have had
something 20 do with it. Only one
thing was wauting-Uncle Tom,
the prince Of all tiddlers, was
missing, or was known that he hid gone
ten miles into the country to play for =
dance the previous night, and it was sup
posed that he was unable to get back, be
cause OF the intense cold, which deepenet
every hour. Inside all was warm and
cheerful, for the servants were kert busy
piling up irrsh logs In the great open fire.
places to keep n continual war up the huge
chimneys; but each guest had q new tale
to tell of increasing cold. Joe Hollabird
came in late with Sally Smithers; Polly
was standing in the hall when they came
in; Mr.. Wallace asked her il it was true
that they were soon to be married, but
before she could swallow the lump in her
throat TO reply the bride came out crying:
'Oh, Joe, what shall we DO? Uncle Tom
hasn't come" ''Old Jim is here, isn't
he?" said Sally; "he will DO Mary Lizzie?"
''Oh! No, Sally, we want Tom, and he's
away out at Behson's tavern and we cant
get him. I'm so disappointed"
"I'll go out and get him, if Miss Sally
will excuse me-"
'Oh! no, it is too cold"
Never mind that Mrs. Vansiltart, the
mare is fresh, and ! am well wrapped up,
let old Jim play until midnight, we'll be
hack by that time aud dance till morni e."
Polly made a step forward to call him not
to 60, but what could she say, Joe was not
her lover, he was Sally's. a moment
later they heard the soInd of sleigh bells
diving away IN the distance.
All the fun was over for poor Polly, but
she didn't show it; o, no, though she was
listening all the while for the returning
bells. What mattered it if she uds the
belle of the ball and all the girls enyied
her Mr. Wallace's attentions, and all the
beaux euyied him his partner, the ball to
which Polly had looked forward for weeks
was dust and ashes to her. ,
Twelve o'clock, one, two, and still no
Joe. Judge Tomlinson, Abram Vansiltart
aud even the guests began TO be very IN
easy; the thermometer was twenty de-
grees below zero and they might be frozen
on the way, for the inhabitants Of the scat
tered farm houses along the way would be
securely asleep and deaf to faint cries for
help.
Joe surely went in to warm
himself," said the bride. Per
haps they would not let him
start out again." perhaps not" said her
husband, but he looked very grave.
MARY Lizzie. l am going to look for Joe.
Boys, who will 90 along?" ~, . and l."
cried half a dozen voices. Then Sally
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